Swift County

Swift County sits at a median home price of $199,968 with year-over-year appreciation of 5.76%, placing it in the 95th percentile nationally out of 1,000 counties ranked, and 7th out of 87 counties in Minnesota. The affordability index of 87 signals that homes here remain accessible relative to income, which matters for rental demand and resale liquidity. The dataset does not supply a cap rate or cash-on-cash figure, and the cash flow score registers zero, which tells you plainly where this market lands on the spectrum: this is an appreciation play, not a yield machine. The 88 appreciation score is the headline number here, and the 5.76% price growth over the past year backs it up. Investors underwriting for day-one cash flow should look elsewhere; those buying for price appreciation in an affordable, sub-$200K market have a concrete data point to work with.

The investor profile this market suits is someone willing to accept thin or neutral cash flow in exchange for price momentum and a low entry price. At $199,968, the capital at risk is modest, the down payment at 20% is roughly $40,000, and the 6.85% rate environment makes leveraged cash flow difficult in most smaller markets, which is consistent with the zero cash flow score here. A value-add operator could find opportunity if they can force equity through renovation in a county where the median is under $200K, because small absolute dollar improvements can move the needle on both rent and resale value more efficiently than in higher-priced metros. The 87 affordability score also suggests the tenant pool is not being priced out, which provides a floor on rental demand even if gross yields are unimpressive.

The taxInsurance data shows a combined monthly tax and insurance burden of $247, built on a state-average effective property tax rate of 1.13% and an insurance rate of 0.35%. The 1.13% rate carries a "normal" flag, meaning it does not represent a meaningful headwind or tailwind relative to the national landscape, but at $2,260 in annual taxes and $700 in insurance on a ~$200K asset, this $247 monthly carry cost is not trivial when cash flow is already at zero. Every dollar of that $247 has to be covered by rent before you see any return on the $40,000 down payment. The note attached to this figure is worth taking seriously: the 1.13% is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual county and township rates in Swift County may differ. Before closing, pull the actual assessor data, because even a 0.2% deviation from that average is roughly $400 per year per property.

Swift County's stability score of 50 is the number that demands the most attention. A county of 9,806 people has inherent concentration risk: the local economy is almost certainly tied to a narrow set of industries, likely agriculture given the rural Minnesota context, and any disruption to that base, whether a commodity price cycle, a major employer exit, or demographic attrition, has an outsized effect on rental demand relative to a diversified metro. No economic anchor data was provided, so specific employer or industry analysis cannot be done here, but the population figure alone should prompt an investor to independently verify what drives local employment and whether the tenant pool is stable or slowly contracting. The stability score of 50 reflects that uncertainty, and it should be treated as a genuine underwriting variable, not background noise.

Compared to its neighbors, Swift County holds its own on price appreciation and overall score, but the comparison reveals a useful decision tree. Redwood County scores 78 overall with a median of $177,081, making it the most affordable option in the peer group and the highest-ranked neighbor by overall score. An investor prioritizing entry price and overall score should run Redwood's numbers in parallel with Swift's. Martin County sits at $209,481 with the same 76 overall score as Swift, meaning you pay roughly $10,000 more for an equivalent composite score. Rock County at $260,804 and a 74 overall score is the most expensive and lowest-ranked neighbor, making it the hardest to justify on fundamentals alone. Renville and Pipestone both score 75 with prices below Swift, so if cash flow is the goal, those two deserve a look before committing to Swift. The case for Swift specifically comes down to its 95th percentile national ranking and the 5.76% appreciation print: if you want the strongest price momentum story in this peer group at a sub-$200K entry, Swift is the number that supports that thesis.